It’s been an amazing few days, here in the Pacific Northwest, with an unusually early, deep freeze that has dropped down from British Columbia, Canada. And, it’s not going anywhere fast. Some days have been excruciatingly brilliant with a cold sun; others start the morning with a freezing fog. I just had to take advantage of the photo opportunity with the hoarfrost this morning. One needn’t go far to observe the crystal kingdom outdoors. I dressed for the sub-freezing weather and drove a few miles to my local park gardens to see if I could spot anything special there. I have so many photos to share with you, so I think I will make this a two-part blog post.
Frozen Maple leaves
Various leaves partially frozen in water
Hoarfrost around a tree seed
Very fine ice crystals on a Hydrangea leaf
Back sides of fallen Hydrangea leaves
Hoarfrost on a dead evergreen branch
A lone pine cone sitting on a frozen pond surface
Vegetation frozen in time on a pond surface
Koi seen swimming just below a frozen pond surface
Crystalline formations in frozen mud
Crystalline shards mixed with mud
Frozen, leafy foliage
Frost on blooming, pink Heather
© Peggy A Thompson
northwestphotos 
Beautiful shots, Peggy. Strangely, that pine cone on the ice shot really speaks to me the most.
Thanks William! I kinda get some strange feelings when looking at that pine cone shot on the ice, as well. There’s a lot of texture there. And the lighting can play a big part, as well. There wasn’t much of it this morning with the dreary skies.
there should be a LOVE button for these shots….really nice work!
You are too kind! Thank you! Hope you are doing well and keeping warm!
I’m envious because I had hoped to try some shots like this, but didn’t think it wise until I’ve recovered fully. But I’ll admit that I utterly loved seeing your catches. Felt bad for the Koi though.
Thank you! Yes, I felt for the Koi, too. There were two, really big ones in there, but there was also a baby. Don’t know if the little ones can survive such cold for long periods of time. They were all keeping very close together.
WoW! Peggy, from the start – great shots! 🙂 Cheerz, Uncle Tree
Thank you, Uncle Tree! Great blog site you have there!
Well, thank you! Glad you liked! 🙂
A true naturalist’s perspective. You have a magic eye. Great stuff
Thank you Hanshi!